Ancient illuminated bible at island monestary, Lake Tana, Ethiopia
Lake Tana is the source of the Blue Nile, which supplies 90% of the Nile's water. There are 15 islands on the huge lake that contain monestaries, some of which date back to the first millennium AD. During the Muslim-Christian and Orthadox-Catholic wars of the 16th century, Christian art, artifacts, and sacred pieces were kept at the monestaries until the wars were over. Many remain on the islands as the churches they came from were destroyed. This means that the monestaries practicly museums of art and relics, though anyone visiting them should remember these are holy monestaries and act accordingly.
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TheBuddhaBuilder (45 months ago | reply)
What a stunningly beautiful work of art that is!
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